11 h 15 minAudiobook2 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A coral island promises freedom, but three shipwrecked boys must learn how to stay alive—and protect their fragile home.
Ralph Rover goes to sea looking for adventure. A storm leaves him stranded on a Pacific island with Jack Martin and Peterkin Gay. Together, they find food, build shelter, and make tools. The reef and surrounding water invite discovery, but survival depends on what they can learn and do together.
Jack brings practical skill and steady judgment; Peterkin brings jokes and bold plans. Their companionship gives island life its warmth, yet visitors draw them into conflicts they do not fully understand. In R. M. Ballantyne’s The Coral Island, courage and Christian faith guide the heroes, while portrayals of Pacific peoples reflect Victorian colonial beliefs and racial stereotypes.
What you’ll discover
- Survival through shared effort Follow the boys as they combine their skills to find food, build shelter, and make tools.
- Three friends under pressure Meet Ralph, Jack, and Peterkin, whose different strengths help them face danger together.
- A reef to explore Share the pull of discovery as the companions investigate their island and its surrounding water.
- Danger beyond the shore Encounters with nearby islanders bring conflicts that test the boys’ hopes of protecting their life.
- A Victorian moral world Explore a story shaped by Christian faith, firm moral judgments, and colonial views of Pacific peoples.
Is it for you?
Readers who enjoy shipwreck adventures, practical survival details, and loyal friendships will find plenty here, alongside a distinctly Victorian moral outlook.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
Who’s who
- Ralph RoverThe young narrator learns through close observation and faces dangers that carry him beyond the boys’ island.
- Jack MartinThe oldest of the three boys provides practical skill, physical courage, and leadership.
- Peterkin GayThe youngest companion brings humor, energy, and an eager appetite for adventure.
- Survival through cooperationThe boys combine their abilities to find food, build shelter, and make useful tools.
- Christianity and colonial beliefsThe novel presents Christian faith as a moral guide while portraying Pacific peoples through Victorian racial stereotypes.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 11 h 15 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 2 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: 0,14 USD a day, then 0,27 USD a day, never raised. Or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear L'isola corallina in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
L'isola corallina
by R. M. Ballantyne· 1857
Three shipwrecked boys learn to survive on a Pacific island.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: Italiano
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
Ralph Rover goes to sea in search of adventure and finds himself fighting for his life. A storm wrecks his ship, and he reaches a coral island with two other boys: Jack Martin and Peterkin Gay. Cut off from home, the three must make a life with what they can find along the shore and in the island’s interior.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
R. M. Ballantyne
1825–1894 · Scottish children's adventure novelist
R. M. Ballantyne (1825–1894) was a Scottish writer of fiction for young readers. He was born in Edinburgh and worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company in Canada from 1841 to 1847. He wrote The Coral Island (1857) and Blown to Bits (1889). He died in Rome.
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More by R. M. Ballantyne
All 2 books
More like this
Free
Free
FreeOur mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about L'isola corallina
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is The Coral Island about?
The Coral Island follows Ralph Rover, Jack Martin, and Peterkin Gay after a shipwreck leaves them on a Pacific island. They learn to live from its resources, but encounters with island communities and pirates turn their survival experiment into a wider adventure.
Is The Coral Island a true story?
The Coral Island is fiction, first published in 1857. Ballantyne uses the form of a young sailor’s personal account and includes practical descriptions of island life, but Ralph Rover and his companions are characters in an invented adventure.
How is The Coral Island connected to Lord of the Flies?
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies challenges the hopeful picture of British boys surviving together in The Coral Island. Golding also uses the names Ralph and Jack, but his stranded children face violence arising within their own group rather than mainly from outside threats.
Popular in adventure
See all
Free
Free
Free
Free
